Police commandos storm Philippine Senate amid ICC arrest move on senator

Gunshots cracked inside the Philippine Senate building in Pasay City as police commandos moved on a sitting senator wanted by the International Criminal Court, forcing journalists and staff to take cover in a confrontation that exposed how fragile legislative immunity can be when law enforcement closes in.

The standoff had been building since May 11, when the Senate was placed under lockdown after National Bureau of Investigation personnel first tried to arrest Sen. Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa. By Wednesday, Dela Rosa had been holed up in his legislative office inside the Senate complex, while the building that houses one of the country’s top political institutions was treated as a security zone.

The ICC unsealed an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa on May 11, after the chamber had secretly issued it on November 6, 2025. The court says Dela Rosa faces crimes against humanity tied to the killings linked to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, during which Dela Rosa served as Duterte’s chief police enforcer. For the Senate, the episode was not only a legal test but an institutional one, pitting claims of political protection against the reach of international justice and the force of domestic police action.

Witnesses inside the building reported volleys of gunfire and said people were told to run for cover. At least 10 gunshots were heard as the Sergeant-at-Arms announced a lockdown, and some accounts said Marines and Senate security exchanged fire with people believed to be NBI operatives, though it was not immediately clear who fired first.

Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza said there were no casualties and that the situation was still being assessed after an undetermined number of law enforcers tried to enter the building. The uncertainty underscored how quickly a parliamentary precinct can become a high-security site when the state is divided over who has the authority to detain one of its own members.

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said the Senate was "under attack" and defended Dela Rosa, while also rejecting calls from some senators for him to surrender. Dela Rosa has said he will fight any attempt to transfer him to The Hague. The standoff has deepened the Senate’s own political split over the ICC warrant and over Duterte’s drug war, which human rights groups say left thousands dead while police have maintained that anti-drug operations often involved armed suspects resisting arrest.